Silence - Week 4: Wednesday

1 Samuel 1:12-13

And as [Hannah] kept praying before the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. And as [Hannah] spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.

St John Chrysostom

For I seek those tears which are shed not for display but in compunction; those which trickle down secretly and in closets and in sight of no person, softly and noiselessly; those which arise from a certain depth of mind, those shed in anguish and in sorrow, those which are for God alone. Such were Hannah’s, for “her lips moved,” it is said, “but her voice was not heard.” Her tears alone uttered a cry more clear than any trumpet. And because of this, God also opened her womb and made the hard rock a fruitful field.